The Monkeypod Seed
by Mahina
Summary: Gohan stumbles onto a massive conspiracy involving the future of the galaxy’s last Saiyans... and a classmate at his new school seems to be at the heart of it. Gohan x Videl AU
1. 00

**The Doctor (Prologue)**

I don't own DBZ.

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\- 0 Years -

He stood on the cold metal deck of the Planet Trade Organization's research hub, marveling at the chaos around him. It had been five years since he last reported in person to a PTO station, but the bedlam of people and robots and refuse on the hangar floor was a far cry from his memories of sedate, scientific precision. He wondered what had happened. Certainly the rest of the ship had not changed - the monotonous conformity of servile staff in regulation uniform was uninspired and lifeless as ever. It hadn't even been an hour yet and he was already ready to return to the hot, dusty winds of Vegeta-sei's endless desserts. The bulkhead felt so low compared to those open red skies. It was strange for an amphibious creature to take so readily to a dry world - but there you had it. He missed his adopted dustball already.

A squat blue alien dock worker waddled up beside him with a data pad. "Where would you like the cargo, doc?"

The doctor shifted one of his bulging, toad-like eyes in the alien's direction. "Have my quarters not yet been assigned? Do I not have a lab berth?"

The pudgy worker scratched his head with a fat blue finger. "Well. No. Things are a bit crazy right now if you haven't noticed. You'll have to stay in the hostel for a few days until we figure out where your relief team is gonna be posted.."

The doctor harumphed. "Posted? My colleagues are being posted to Vegeta-sei. What bureaucratic incompetence. Unforgivable. Unforgivable! Let me speak to your supervisor - I have precious cargo that must be transferred to an appropriate lab containment area immediately."

The dock worker took a startled step back, then rallied. A smirk spread across his face, followed by a loud and nasal burst of laughter. "Oh, you ain't heard yet, has you?"

The doctor's roving eyes froze. His nictitating membranes blinked. "Pardon?"

The alien stifled his mirth. "You ain't heard? An asteroid smashed it two days ago. Nothing left of them monkeys but rubble. Boom." The alien made an explosion gesture, then spat. "Good riddance too, arrogant scum."

"...What?" The doctor said blankly.

The blue worker caught the doctor's eye with a knowing twinkle. "Ah, seems he was right there in the front row. Rumor has it that the damn Saiyans were plotting to leave the Cold Empire, back out on their contract wipin' planets for the PTO..."

The alien buffed his nails on his chest plate with faux casualness, then winked. "Awfully convenient asteroid, if you get my drift. And by convenient I mean -"

The alien was cut off abruptly as the doctor brutally backhanded him in the mouth, sending him clattering to the floor. The hum of activity briefly dipped as lookie-loos turned to check out the sudden disturbance. Noise quickly resumed. Nothing unusual about a superior slapping a subordinate. It was business in Frieza's organization, even on a research station. The mouthy dock worker glared daggers, but retreated silently to handle the cargo under the doctor's continued stare.

Damn. The doctor thought to himself. I knew there unrest among the Third Class ranks, but I never thought King Vegeta would spring the trigger. Did they ever have a chance? The fools should have waited! I was so close to a breakthrough! Unless… Cold sweat broke out across the doctor's slick skin, colors shifting rapidly from pink to blue as he assessed his risk of exposure. It settled on a neutral grey as he reached a reassuring conclusion.

No, I must be safe. If Frieza suspected I passed our research on Saiyan transformations to King Vegeta I would not be alive. He would not have had me evacuated. Or at least I would not be here...I would be on his ship spitting blood as that lackey Dodoria did his dirty work.

Unbidden, tears started to form in the corners of the doctor's eyes. He rubbed them away with a webbed finger. Those fools! He thought furiously. He wasn't sure if he meant the Saiyans, or his employers. It was just such a waste, he couldn't help but get emotional. He had once thought the Cold family were the ultimate paragons of power, but then Frieza had sent him to Vegeta-sei after luring the race into a mercenary contract. In all of his career, the doctor had never seen a physiology more perfectly suited to war, that grew in strength without fail after every battle. Now that Frieza had opened up spaceflight to them, his models had calculated the probability of a Saiyan achieving parity with the Frost Demon within the next twenty years at over 90 percent. Five years after that? The galaxy would be full of Super Saiyans!

It was an inevitable chain reaction. A Singularity of sorts...an ascension. A future pantheon from Saiyan legend that had just been robbed from the doctor by a fearful purple narcissist. He had never shared his real data with Frieza. The lizard could not know that Super Saiyans were more than a bumpkin folk tale. Either the doctor been too late getting his research to King Vegeta, or those beautiful, proud fools had been too impatient for liberation to play the long game and embrace their destiny as gods in the next generation.

I must calm down, the doctor thought, I must not appear unusual or upset. The doctor clenched and unclenched his hands in agitation. The doctor's eyes slowly slid towards the crates being offloaded from the ship behind him.

It might not be too late, after all. The Saiyan race was gone now, but he might have the power to keep that potential alive. The Saiyans were too sublime, their fierce desert culture too proud to vanish into the cold night of history. He shuddered with remembered ecstasy at memory of hours spent pouring over biopsies of fallen warriors, carefully wiping the ichor and grime from their taut, perfectly toned flesh. The elegant pathways of their ki. The chemical cocktail that ignited an Oozaru transformation.

No, his promised gods would not die. He would make sure of that.

\- 8 Years -

"What is this disgusting fluid?" Frieza squinted as he examined a strange apparatus filled with bubbling green liquid, his pasty purple face distorted by the glass beaker.

The doctor brightened with false cheer. "Ahh, my Lord Frieza, you are looking at a synthetic hormone based on the juvenile Tulibl. Once properly distilled, I have great hopes that it could prove a potent weapon."

"Hmm." Frieza frowned, "What is a Tulibl?"

The doctor resisted the urge to betray his nervousness by tugging at his whiskers. "You had them purged last week, my lord." And I submitted a six page petition to delay action until I could harvest sufficient samples, you obstructive creature.

"Not ringing a bell." Frieza visibly pondered, then snapped his fingers in recognition. "Oh, those abominable puffs of fur, the ones the men started collecting as pets. Yes I remember, they kept breeding."

"They do not 'breed' my lord; their ki jumps too high for one body," the doctor explained patiently, "and so they split to reduce energy. The hormone that causes the ki spike is a miracle drug. With further research we might double the power levels of certain soldiers in battle."

"Ahh." Frieza looked genuinely impressed. "I like the sound of that. It almost makes me regret recalling you from the research hub to look after my prize monkeys."

"Do not think a moment on it Lord Frieza," the doctor assured his employer. "After the accident on Coola no. 98, it cannot be helped that I am the last doctor experienced with Saiyan physiology." Seeing, he thought privately, as I killed ever so many colleagues to get here. "But please, enough about my hobbies. I was told I am to meet my patients?"

Frieza's delight fell back into a calculated mask of ennui. "Vegeta, Nappa, Radditz?" He called with bored tone. His lips still twitched in a smirk as he delicately clapped twice for attention.

The three saiyans snapped to full salute against the wall where they had been left standing for the last half hour as Frieza dawdled in the lab. The youngest, a tiny midget with massively tall hair, swayed precariously. It was clear from the flush of his cheeks and the glaze of his eyes that he was not well. The doctor put his age at around 13...a bit young for a Saiyan to be entering his growth spurt. Possibly a stress response? His bodyguard Nappa tried to place a steadying hand on the boy's shoulder, but the prince slapped it away.

Frieza laughed. "Aren't they delightful, doctor? Quite a throwback."

"Absolutely, my lord." The doctor murmured in deference. "If I may, I'd like to examine young Vegeta alone. I think I recognize these symptoms. A rare virus, somewhat contagious. In fact I think I will have to quarantine him."

Frieza straightened with mild alarm. "Quarantine?" He eyed the Saiyans with suspicion and disgust. "Exactly how contagious are we talking Doctor, because not even these three are worth catching a disease over."

The doctor quickly raised a placating hand, "Oh no! It is not much concern for the rest of the ship, Lord Frieza! The likelihood of transmission is most low...The Prince's immune system is weakened by the growth phase. I only suggest isolation as a precaution. Of course I bow to your best judgement in the matter." The doctor bowed deeply to his master. He wondered as he stiffly faced the floor if he was maybe hamming it up too much.

Frieza scowled but relaxed. His long tail thumped irritably against the metal deck. "Keep them all in a cage for all I care."

"The adults will be back in service in mere days, my Lord," the doctor assured his master. "Although it is probably best I keep the young prince under observation through his entire growth phase. We don't want a relapse yes?"

"I don't really care." Frieza dismissed, then sighed at the doctor's raised eyebrow. "Oh very well. Dodoria will be insufferable without his favorite 'sparring' partner but I suppose we will all have to manage."

"Thank you my Lord Frieza." The doctor said with another quick bow and very little envy for whoever became Dodoria's substitute punching bag.

"Hmph." The purple alien gave the doctor a critical once-over, then strode to the door. He paused in front of the Saiyans, then lifted Vegeta's chin with a casual flick of his tail. The tiny prince flinched, but visibly refrained from further reaction to the monster's touch. It brought another smirk to Frieza's delicately cruel lips.

"You be careful, little monkey prince." Frieza murmured gently. "I know how eager you are to join the rest of your miserable flea-bitten race in hell, but the doctor has a certain reputation for creative use of bodies. In fact I hear he finds them better company than the living. I bet he'd love to have a little prince in his collection." Frieza turned to the doctor slyly, "Wouldn't you Doctor?"

"I only endeavor to serve your will, Lord Frieza." The doctor answered diplomatically. "If you wish the Prince to stay alive, I will keep him alive." Although I do not in fact have any royal specimens in my collection. Yet.

"Hmph," said Lord Frieza with dismissal. "Well you're no fun." He released the tiny Saiyan prince and held his tail up for inspection with a frown. "Zarbon!" He shouted as he dropped his tail and strode out the door, "ZARBON! I want disinfectant NOW."

The doctor listened to Frieza raise unnecessary drama as he stomped down the corridor, then blew out a sigh of relief. The doctor respected power, but Frieza and his hybrid clan of mutants had been nothing but a disappointment since he joined their army. He doubted that Frieza had ever challenged his full potential in his life.

No creativity or pride, he thought. While the lizard is out amusing himself with wine and petty coin-counting, I will revive his worst nightmare.

"Doc…" said one of the saiyans hesitantly. Radditz. The third-class dared a glance down at his prince, who was less glaring at the doctor than blearily attempting to maintain his mask of royal ferocity while failing to keep his vision in focus. Perspiration was starting to bead at his hairline and his breathing was becoming labored.

The doctor chuckled "You should relax. Do you think I am some fraud who can only push buttons on a rejuvenation tank? The medical staff on on this ship truly is incompetent if they couldn't recognize an engineered virus."

"A what?" Radditz scratched his shaggy head.

The doctor was saved from answering because Prince Vegeta chose that moment to pitch forward in a complete blackout. Napa and Radditz were too stunned by their prince's sudden failure to catch him. His body made a dull thud as it crumpled to the floor.

Hm. The doctor thought. I might have done my work a little too well. I did not expect the symptoms to be so severe. Ah, well...

The doctor shook out his sleeves and rubbed his hands together. "Hoist him onto that table if you want to save your prince. Oh, this is exciting!"

\- 6 months -

The little boy understood. He was going away, away from his family, away from his tutors...away from his mama and papa. Third Class babies got sent on missions all the time, and Vegeta wasn't a baby. He wondered why the adults all whispered as he and his father stood before the space pod. Were they waiting for him to cry? He'd seen some of the third class kids cry, but Vegeta was an elite. He was only four, but he knew fear was for the weak.

"I'll be brave." the little prince promised to his father.

His father shook his head, but the slight quirk of his lips beneath his beard told Vegeta that the King was not angry. "Don't just be brave, Vegeta." The king said, placing a hand on the boy's head. "Be proud. Never kneel in your heart."

Vegeta blinked awake to flat, artificial light. A breathing mask covered his face, and somewhere in the room a medical device was beeping constantly. His head throbbed with a dull ache in time to the infernal device's monotonous bleats.

Shut it off Vegeta silently growled. He easily snapped the cuffs binding him to the bed and tore the breathing mask off of his face. He choked and fought the urge to retch as he pulled a clear feeding tube out of his throat. It came free with a slick wet cough of spit and the bitter tinge of bile. The room swam as he tried to sit up, his hand going in and out of focus as it clenched the bedsheets.

Something was wrong.

Vegeta looked at his hand more closely. It looked strange and far away. The shape was unfamiliar. He hopped down from the bed and stumbled when his bare foot connected with the floor too soon. He crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs and snapped electrodes. Lights began flashing over a monitor and the beeping device turned into a wailing alarm. Blood welled where an IV drip tugged free of his arm. As Vegeta looked at the surgical theater around him, he realized that everything in it seemed...small.

WHOOSH! The door to the operating theater slid open. Vegeta whipped under the cover of the bed and readied a ki blast in one hand. It flared wildly, uncontrolled. Vegeta felt like every organ inside him was churning, his energy an alien presence in a disconnected body. He grit his teeth and forced the world to steady.

"Good morning, my little prince!" said an unfamiliar voice from the other side of the doorway. Vegeta watched as black-toed boots crossed the threshold and paced slowly around the edge of the theater. A tall, spindly creature came into view. Baggy black trousers tucked into his boots. Vegeta's wary gaze traveled the length of the creature's long white lab coat to a grey, amphibian face with long whiskers dangling from a blunt snout with wide frog lips. Bulging toad eyes rolled in independent directions scanning the room before spotting the prince behind the bed. He grinned sharply, revealing small but predatory teeth.

"Hello there," the creature said, stooping towards the wary prince with a friendly wave, "Do you remember me?"

Vegeta dissipated his ki blast. He didn't need a scouter to know he could wipe the floor with this freakshow. He swayed as another wave of dizziness washed over him.

"I am your doctor," the creature continued. Vegeta caught the glint of armor under his coat, the standard uniform of Frieza's Planet Trade Organization. "You're in my lab on Frieza's private planet. You've been unconscious for six months."

Vegeta gaped. S-six months!? He looked down at his hands again, examining the length of his arms and the distance to his feet. They seemed to stretch for miles under the loose hospital gown.

"Yes," The doctor confirmed, correctly guessing the direction of Vegeta's thoughts. "You went through your growth phase. Don't worry - I think you will find your body in good shape. Better, even, given adequate time to rest while growing. You finished a little on the short side, but I hope one day you will thank me." He held out a clawed hand to help the prince up.

Vegeta ignored the proffered help. He pushed himself off the ground and leaned on the bed to stand up woozily. "Where are Nappa and Radditz?"

"On a mission." The doctor answered. "As they were not going through their growth phase, they recovered from the sickness quite quickly."

Memory flooded back to Vegeta, of coming down with a cold that only got worse until he passed out in the doctor's lab, right in front of his men. Vegeta's cheeks burned with shame, which only made him flush much harder.

"Come now," the Doctor said. "As you are awake, let us find a spare room so you can test out your new form. Run a few katas, hmmm?" The doctor mimed a few punches with a grin.

"Don't patronize me." Vegeta grit between his teeth. Frieza couldn't possibly be happy about losing six months of work from him. He wondered how long he had before word spread that he was awake. How long before Dodoria came by to beat him back into a rejuvenation tank? Every moment his traitorous body had spent in a coma was a moment of lost training. He needed food and real clothes.

Vegeta pushed himself away from the bed and shouldered past the thin doctor, being sure to give him an extra hard bump as he stalked towards the door. The doctor stumbled into a cart of surgical tools, which clattered to the floor.

Vegeta slammed his palm on the button to open the door. The plastic plating cracked under the blow.

The doctor chuckled behind him. "Your father used to do that, too."

Vegeta paused. "What did you say?"

"Your father." The doctor stiffly rolled the shoulder Vegeta had bumped. "He took to scouters and space pods like a natural, but never could get used to our doors."

"Tch." Vegeta spat over his shoulder. "You know nothing about my father."

"Oh?" The doctor crossed his arms and tapped a claw against his face. "I lived and studied on Vegeta-sei for fifteen years. I think I knew your father longer than the length of your existence, let alone the amount of time you actually spent in his company. You must have been four when they tried sacrificing you to Frieza?"

Vegeta spun around and marched back to the toad. He grabbed the freakshow's coat and pulled his froggy face down to eye level "Don't talk about my people. Don't talk about my mission."

"Your mission?" The doctor chuckled, "Your mission to mindlessly slaughter billions of weaklings for Frieza's profit?"

Vegeta growled warningly. Blood began to pound in his ears.

"For the man who freed his people from the Tuffles, he certainly was quick to find himself a new master."

Enraged, Vegeta punched the doctor clear across the operating theater. He followed up with a ki blast that blew a hole in the wall into the room next door. He smirked as he considered his handiwork. That had hardly taken any effort at all. The doctor may have been right about his power increasing even in a coma.

A groan from beyond the rubble caught Vegeta's attention. Shit, Vegeta thought as his rage subsided and he peered critically through the hole to the dim room beyond. Frieza is going to exact payment from my hide for this damage. The teen wondered if he could threaten the doctor into signing off on a report that the blast was part of a rehabilitation accident. Lucky thing the blow hadn't killed him, irritating though the toad was.

Vegeta stalked through the new doorway and found himself in a dimly lit room filled with row upon row of eerily illuminated jars. He glanced at the crumpled form of the doctor, then kicked a chunk of rubble out of the way to examine a jar more closely. An eye swam in viscous green fluid, slowly rotating to peer back at him. Vegeta recoiled. All the jars contained various body parts - clawed feet, arms with chitinous armor plates, a spine with vicious spikes. The doctor was strewn in front of a group of the largest jars, which contained whole creatures.

No, not just any creatures...Saiyans.

"Get up." Vegeta kicked the doctor with disgust. He kicked the doctor again. "Get up and tell me what you are doing with Saiyan bodies in this room."

The doctor moaned weakly. Vegeta picked him up by the collar and shook him.

"Stop, stop…" The toad croaked. He opened a quicky swelling eye and appraised Vegeta. When the teenage prince said nothing further, the doctor took it as safe to continue. "This is my collection. Isn't it marvelous? I collect tokens from all my favorite patients. You could call it a hobby, it's quite harmless."

Harmless? Vegeta sneered. This weak creature was vomitous. He was about to throw the doctor down in disgust when a sudden chill of realization washed over him. He stilled, then scanned the rows of specimens more carefully, reading labels.

The doctor smiled in the prince's chokehold. "Looking for your sample?"

Vegeta turned his deadly glare on the doctor.

"So arrogant." The doctor crooned. "You assume you rate as a favorite. That arrogance is one thing I really did love about Saiyans. When you Saiyans want, you take. Me too."

"What did you steal from me?" Vegeta growled twisting the doctor's collar tighter.

The doctor shrugged. "Your tail."

Vegeta's free hand whipped to his tail. It was securely wrapped around his waist like a belt, as ever.

The doctor laughed. "You are adorable. I was sure to take it before you passed puberty. It regenerated. Be careful not to lose it again, little prince. You know it won't grow back from now on as an adult."

"Where is it?"

The doctor glanced up and to the right. Vegeta followed his gaze. A pickled tale floated in a jar between samples of some kind of insect species. Vegeta tossed the doctor aside and reached for the jar with both hands. He carefully removed it from the shelf and inspected it from different angles. Had this really been a part of him? The tail he was born with? He unwound the tail around his waist and compared the two. He looked at the other Saiyan samples floating in their jars. The first new Saiyans he had seen in eight years, and they were pickled corpses floating in a trophy room. Memories of a dead race mocking him with their dead black eyes.

"You sick fuck." Vegeta said tonelessly. He threw the jar with his tail on the ground and crushed it with his bare foot. The doctor squeaked in horror.

"My royal tail!" He cried.

Vegeta pulled a random jar from the shelf and threw it at the doctor. It exploded against the toad's head, showering him with glass and sticky fluid.

"YOU MEAN MY TAIL!" The prince shouted. He swiped a whole row of jars to the floor. The doctor lunged for the teen, but the prince sidestepped smoothly and kneed him in the gut. He drove an elbow down hard against the back of the doctor's neck. The doctor crumpled, and Vegeta kicked him towards the preserved Saiyan corpses hard enough to shatter the glass. Green ooze leaked everywhere and several bodies slumped bonelessly out of their jars to pile over the doctor.

"Stop, Vegeta!" The doctor pleaded with the seething boy from beneath the sodden remnants of the prince's kinsmen. "This is the last of your race."

Vegeta saw white. His mind went mad with fury. "My race is extinct!" He flared his aura, shattering every jar in the room. He shifted stance and brought his palms together at his side. "Gallick Gun - HA!"

A burst of bright purple light enveloped the room. When it faded, there was nothing left of the doctor or the Saiyan specimens except glass shards and a few shreds of the doctor's lab coat. The entire back and side walls were blown out into the hallway

Vegeta smiled wanly as he leaned against a shelf and slid to the floor, breath ragged. His vision swam in and out of focus again as curious foot soldiers gathered around the destruction, drawn by the energy readings on their scouters. He didn't even care anymore how Frieza might punish him for this. He'd take it and throw it back at the lizard a thousandfold. Every blow a Saiyan took only made him stronger.

His smile grew deeper as his eyes fluttered closed to rest and await Dodoria. One day he'd complete the mission his king gave him - become the legendary Super Saiyan and kill Frieza for the freedom of Vegeta-sei. Even if he could only liberate their ghosts.

* * *

**A/N: **Hey readers! Welcome. As a heads up, this story is not complete nor has it been re-edited since I got older and smarter. This fic has just been gathering dust in my harddrive for a long time, so I am posting what I have since I figure it will stave off my urge to constantly push updates for Free to Fly, the story I am re-editing. And why NOT share it with the world?

Anyway, if you find yourself enjoying please do let me know - it helps a lot to know if people want to read more. It's the reason I even came back to the site. I'll keep y'all posted when we start running near the end of written material.


	2. 01

\- 29 Years Later -

"Help! Help!" wailed a distant voice.

Gohan put down the biology textbook he'd been reviewing and peered over the edge of his fluffy yellow cloud. A faint female scream drifted up from the ground, then died away. Gohan waited, then shook his head and turned back to his reading. It wasn't his his business. Not his business at all anymore.

"Ahhhhh!" Came a new shout, followed by the echoes of gunfire.

"Die, fuckers!" a shrill man whooped gleefully. "Hahahaha! This bank is ours!"

Gohan sighed in resignation. He slowly packed his study materials back into his messenger bag, then stood up and stretched. _This is how I know I'm entering Satan City. Some towns have signs. Here they greet you with a fresh crime every morning._

"Say, Kinto'un." Gohan said to his meteorological pet . "You ready to go stop some bad guys?"

The cloud quivered in anticipation. Gohan smiled.

"I thought so. Just like the old days with my dad, right?" Gohan's smile faded as an image of his screaming mother popped to mind. He knew what his mom thought, but he couldn't let people get hurt if he had the power to help.

"_Gohan!'" Chi Chi snapped as she diced vegetables for dinner at superhuman speed. "You WILL fit in at this new school, do you hear me? This isn't the world your father and I grew up in. Martial arts and dragonball hunting are not careers."_

"On second thought, I should probably lay low. Do you think anyone will recognize me as a blonde?"

The cloud slowed to a drift. Gohan got the impression of high doubt.

"Oh, is that so?" Gohan scowled. He crossed his arms and looked down at Kinto'un, eyebrow raised. "Then just stop right here…and Ha!" Gohan flexed, and a golden aura burst forth around him as he flipped into Super Saiyan mode.

"See you after school, Kinto'un!" In a flash, Gohan rolled off the cloud headfirst. He laughed as Kinto'un fell away, roiling in exasperation. He closed his eyes in happiness, and gave in to gravity. He missed the feeling of plunging to earth at terminal velocity. The wind in his hair was so peaceful. He cut his speed and twisted easily at the last second, landing in a silent crouch to peer over the edge of a building across the street from the bank. To a bystander, it the move would have looked like a flicker.

The scene outside the bank was a zoo. Cops were just now arriving on the scene, struggling to set up a police line. As Gohan watched, Four masked men burst from the inside, their automatic weapons blazing. The police ducked for cover behind their own vehicles, which quickly looked like swiss cheese.

"C'mon!" Shouted a fifth robber from inside the getaway car. The other men darted to the blue pickup truck, throwing their loot into the truck bed.

"Ha-ha!" Shouted a robber, firing carelessly from the hip as he hopped onto the vehicle. "Is this the best you pigs can do?!"

"Oh man." Muttered Gohan to himself. "It just never ends does it?" That guy wasn't even aiming. He was going to hit a bystander. The possibility of innocents getting hurt really pissed Gohan off. Time to get serious. He launched from the roof and casually flickered behind the careless criminal. The man had no warning before he suddenly flew off the truck, knocking into one of his comrades and taking them both down like dominoes.

_Two down_. Gohan thought, slowly lowering his outstretched leg and staring after the thugs with malice.

"You little...eat lead!" A third robber turned to Gohan and opened fire at the teen's face in panic. To Gohan, it looked like the bullets were travelling in slow motion. He effortlessly snatched them out of the air. He opened his palm and let the crumpled bullets drop out. They clinked on the bed of the truck in the sudden silence. Even the cops in the distance were shocked speechless.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" The robber broke the tableau with a terrified scream. He tried to turn and run, but Gohan hopped of the truck. His boot connected with the poor fool's face. The man dropped with a moan.

_Three down. _Gohan looked around for the last two criminals. They were inside the truck. He made eye contact with the driver in the rear view mirror.

"He...he's a monster!" shouted the one in the passenger seat. "Go, go go!"

The truck's tires squealed as the driver floored it. Gohan watched the truck speed down the road until he gauged they were past the largest concentration of onlookers. He raised a hand, and with a flick and shout, sent the blue truck tumbling end over end with the lightest touch of ki.

"Ha!"

Police rushed toward the crashed car and the men he'd taken out in front of the bank. Gohan took the momentary distraction to flicker down the block and and release the transformation, job well done.

_Hope the police can take it from there, _he thought, brushing himself of and peering out from behind a lamp post. Gohan didn't have a lot of faith in Satan City's finest, but couldn't afford to be late to his first class.

"You!" Snapped a voice behind him. Gohan jumped. He hadn't sensed anyone behind him!

Slowly, Gohan turned around to find two girls glaring his way. One was short and black-haired in an oversized t-shirt. Her pigtails were messy and frizzing all over the place. She looked kind of mean. Her friend was blonde and statuesque, with a trendy pixie cut. Gohan blushed a little. He pointed to himself with exaggerated surprise.

"Me?" He gulped. _Did they see me power down?_

The small, dark one planted her fists on her hips and scowled. "Tell me who did this. It hardly looks like police work"

Gohan chuckled nervously. "Oh. I...I guess I wasn't looking."

The taller blonde one looked surprised. "Really? Wow. It looks like the action must have been pretty big. Check it out!" She pointed at the overturned car wreck, shattered bank windows, and swarming cops. An ambulance trundled past them down the road, siren blaring.

Gohan looked away from his mess and blushed. He whipped the first book he could grab from his bag out in front of him. "I was, um reading..." Gohan glanced at the cover, "I really like biology?" Gohan somehow crumpled himself even further. _Man that's a lame excuse. They're wearing Orange Star badges! Way to on first impressions._

"Ugh." The smaller girl huffed in annoyance. She dismissed Gohan with a disgusted look, then pounded a gloved fist into her palm, staring intently at the carnage in the street. "I can't believe we missed it, Erasa. We should have stopped them."

"Aw, hell no girl." Erasa replied, flicking her wrist dismissively. "Do you know how much I paid to have my nails done yesterday? Not all of us want to look like slobs."

The smaller girl shifted her glare to her friend and raised an eyebrow. "Are you calling me a slob?"

Gohan decided now was a good moment to escape. He slowly backed away until he was sure he was out of the girls' peripheral vision, then made a mad dash in the direction of school.

_I can't believe it's only the first day and it's already this stressful, _Gohan moaned internally as he fled down the street at dangerous speeds. A sudden thought made him stumble and nearly go skidding down the sidewalk.

_Oh man! That might actually be the first time I've talked to girls my own age in my life. Real smooth, Gohan!_

* * *

Videl drummed her fingers in irritation as she perched on her desk and waited for class to start. The lecture hall was unusually rowdy. It was hard to believe that Orange Star was actually a top high school in the region, ranking just behind Metro West. Everyone thought they could get a free pass or something just because it was the first day.

_Who is the Golden Fighter? _Videl thought. _This is the third time he's beat me to a crime scene, and I haven't even seen the guy. _

Videl leaned back and sighed. Her best friend Erasa looked over at her knowingly. "You're still obsessing over missing the action at the bank aren't you?"

"I'm not." Videl denied, arms crossed.

"Not what?" asked Sharpner, her other best friend, as he dropped his backpack and slunk into his seat. He tossed his long, flowing blond hair over one shoulder.

Videl's eyes narrowed as she assessed the teen's expensively pampered locks. "_You're _not the Golden Fighter are you, Sharpner? Did you stop a robbery at Satan City bank this morning?"

Sharpner rolled his eyes "Puh-leeze. As if. I spent all morning working on my arms." He flexed one bulky, oversized muscle as if to prove a point.

_Ugh._ Videl thought secretly. Sometimes Sharpner was the worst. If he wasn't Erasa's cousin, she wondered if they would still be friends.

"Well you never know," Erasa said brightly. "The bank manager said he was wearing an Orange Star button. He's definitely a student at our school."

"Pff." Sharpner snorted. "This Gold Fighter is just a hoax. As if there is anyone else as strong as us in this dump of a city."

Erasa just grinned. "Aw, cuz. That's why you should come fight crime with us. I'm sure the commissioner would let you tag along if you asked nicely."

"Hell no!" Sharpner recoiled. "I told you I'm way too busy with boxing club."

Videl rolled her eyes. "He means he's too busy puffing himself up with protein powder at my dad's gym."

Sharpner actually looked hurt. "Videl baby, it's not like that."

"I'm not anyone's baby." Videl said with exasperation. "Stop calling me that."

A sharp cough at the front of the classroom caught everyone's attention. The teacher had entered the lecture hall. Videl hopped off the desk and into her proper seat as their homeroom teacher cleared his throat for attention.

"Good morning my young..._scholars_," the teacher said with a playful hint of sarcasm. "Today we are being graced with a new student who actually knows how to read."

The classroom tittered.

The professor turned to the doorway. "That's your cue, my boy."

A tall, slim kid with spiky black hair chuckled nervously and peered into the room. He took a few hesitant steps toward the podium and waved awkwardly. "Hello. My name's Gohan. Nice to meet you."

Erasa squealed quietly. "Oooo, look at him Videl, he's a cutie!"

_Cute?_ Videl wasn't so sure. His stooping posture was terrible and his forced grin looked goofy and dim witted. Erasa's taste in boys was questionable. She was always going for the arty, sensitive types that flaked out when they realized Erasa's true strength. Pulverizing concrete with her bare hands just didn't scream 'dateable' to those poseurs.

A kid in the row below them snickered, "What kind of name is Gohan?" Erasa threw a pencil at him. The kid flinched "Ouch! Hey!"

Videl propped her head on a fist in boredom. _Oh boy. I foresee another long year of pointless heartbreak. _Although...something about his stride niggled at the back of her mind. She hadn't realised at the bank, but something about him made her sit up straight again.

"That's weird." Videl said to her friends. "Doesn't he look familiar?"

Sharpner chuckled. "He was probably on a TV spelling bee."

"No, I mean the way he moves…"

"Shhh!" Erasa hissed.

The teacher continued to address the class, trying to talk over the whispers. "Gohan here made perfect scores on all his entry exams. English, math, chemistry. Many of you could learn from his example."

"Example this!" someone shouted from the back row. A couple students wolf-whistled.

"Silence!" The teacher slammed his palm on the podium. "I know it is the first day, but settle down! Really." He turned to Gohan and said, more kindly, "They're just teasing. You can sit wherever you'd like to sit." The teacher said helpfully, gesturing at the entire lecture hall.

"Uhh…" Gohan stuttered, clearly overwhelmed.

Erasa started to stand up and raise her hand to point out an empty seat in their row, but a boy in the seat in front of Videl beat Erasa to the punch.

"Over here!" He called, "Real geniuses in this row!"

Sharpner gagged. Erasa looked crestfallen.

Videl blew out a sigh of relief. The last thing she needed was another hanger-on, distracting Erasa and Sharpner from training. Not that Videl was jealous that the others had a wider social circle or anything. Why, as the daughter of Hercule people were practically lining up to be her friend. _I just have higher standards.._

Gohan shuffled his way down the row to the other boy, who scooted a seat over to put Gohan directly in front of Videl.

"Hi," the nerdy looking kid stuck out a hand. He was wearing a plaid blue shirt, iron-pressed and tucked into his belted pants. He had glasses and ratty shock of red-brown hair. "I'm Bunson, this year's Science Club president."

Gohan brightened. "Science is my best subject!" He fumbled with his notebooks and stuck out his own hand to shake. "Son Gohan. Um... new kid."

Erasa giggled. Never one to give up, she draped herself over the desk and cocked her head cutely. "And I'm Erasa, with an E." She smiled flirtatiously and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, adjusting to give the best angle on her cleavage.

Gohan looked more confused than smitten. "Nice to meet you again?"

Videl's eyes widened. "That's it!" She slammed her palms on the desk in realization. "You're the kid from the bank this morning!"

"Ack!" Gohan jumped back into his own desk defensively.

Erasa brightened. "Oh my gosh, he is! Talk about fate!"

Videl's brows lowered as she realized what Gohan was wearing. The police had let her take a look at security footage of the bank robbery. She thought back to the few seconds of grainy video. He was about the right height, too.

"You said you didn't see the Gold Fighter, huh?" Videl said suspiciously. "Do you know what the cops told me he was wearing? A white shirt, black vest, and red pants. Sound familiar?"

Gohan looked down at his own outfit.

"Huh, that's funny." Erasa said with an airy giggle. "Looks like vests and red pants are in style this season."

"Uhh, yeah." Gohan chuckled. "The must be popular, huh?"

Tense silence reigned as Videl refused to let the new kid break eye contact. _He has black hair, but those fighters at the Cell Games could turn their hair gold. Even if my dad said that was just a cheap trick._

"Hey!" barked the teacher at the front of the room, breaking the tension. "Sit down, time for lessons. I'll let it slide because you're new, but any more chit chat and you'll start the year with a demerit"

"Sorry! Sorry!" Gohan apologized profusely. He dropped into his seat.

Bunson glared back at Videl. "Way to go, meathead."

Videl rolled her eyes. "Like I care what you think, Bunson."

Gohan's stomach growled. They all turned to look at him in surprise.

"Ahahaha…" Gohan chuckled sheepishly, "This might sound crazy, but when is lunch?"

* * *

Bunson and a few of his science club friends stared at Gohan across the table as their new recruit shoveled food into his mouth like a fiend. They'd given up counting the number of bentos Gohan had demolished after five.

"Man," Gohan said around a full mouth. "I didn't think that lectures could work up an appetite."

"Um." Bunson said, "Me either."

Gohan realized with sudden insight that he was probably freaking out his new friend. He paused in the middle of a bowl of rice and looked around the cafeteria. A lot of kids were staring. Oops. Gohan flushed and made a deliberate effort to slow down his pace. The only non-Saiyan households he'd ever eaten at was with his dad's old friends. None of them counted since they all knew what to expect from a Saiyan.

Most of the other students lost interest as soon as he started eating more normally, but Gohan noticed that Videl and her friends were still staring from across the room.

Gohan put down his chopsticks. "Man, what is with her? I swear she hates me, but we just met."

"Who, Videl?" Bunson snickered. "Just ignore her. She's part of the meathead crew. If you scored perfectly on the entrance exams you're way above her level."

"Pfff." Said another kid. "She thinks that just because she's Hercule Satan's daughter, she can cut class whenever she wants and get special privileges."

Gohan straightened in surprise. "What, really? She's Hercule's daughter?" He looked at her more closely. _I guess she looks a little like him. They've got the same blue-violet eyes. _

"Remember back when Videl was in Science Club?" said the boy to Gohan's right. "Awful. We totally lost to Metro City in the regional science fair because she flaked at the last minute to go stop a museum heist."

Gohan thought about how Videl had been at the scene of the bank robbery this morning. He turned to the kid who spoke. "Does she fight crime or something?"

The boy rolled his eyes. "She and that chick Erasa. The cops are always calling them in to help when they need backup. The mayor even gave them their own copies of the Key to the City. Being students of the world's strongest man does have its perks."

Privately Gohan found the idea a little alarming. He pictured Cell smacking Hercule into that mountain five years ago. Hercule wasn't very strong. Videl and Erasa were playing with fire.

"Videl may be out of business soon," Bunson smirked. "I hear the _Gold Fighter _could wipe the floor with her."

"No way!" protested the boy next to Gohan. "He just uses the same tricks as Cell." The table erupted in furious debate.

"Um." Gohan interjected. "This is the second time someone has mentioned it today. Who is the Gold Fighter?"

Bunson gaped at his new friend. "You haven't heard of the Gold Fighter? You're out of the gossip loop."

The girl on Gohan's left side leaned in excitedly "They say he looks like a teenage boy, but with glowing golden hair and magic powers. And he disappears after every crime scene." The girl sighed dreamily. "So mysterious."

_Oh man, _Gohan thought, cringing. _I've only stopped a crime once and I've already become an urban legend. _His gaze slid worriedly to Videl at the other side of the cafeteria. The other martial artist was still staring at him.

_Does she know? _He wondered. She'd almost pegged him from his clothes. _I guess Super Saiyan really isn't a good disguise. I need a better way to keep my identity hidden. And I should probably apologize to Kinto'un._

"Ugh," Said Bunson. "Enough about Videl and her lunatic jock friends. Gohan, we can count on you for the science club, right?

Gohan looked around the table hesitantly. Everybody was leaning in eagerly.

"Well…" Gohan hedged, "Maybe. I mean, I live kinda far away. My commute is going to make extra activities tough."

"It can't be that bad," said the girl next to Gohan sympathetically. "Where do you live?"

"The 439 mountain area." Gohan replied bashfully, "See, it's pretty small."

The girl stood up in shock. "What!? Oh, get out of here. No way! The 439 mountain area is like five hundred miles away."

"Dude, Gohan!" Said another kid, "It must take you hours to get here every morning!"

Gohan rubbed the back of his neck and laughed to cover his embarrassment. "Well, Orange Star is a really good school."

"Isn't Metro West a little closer though?" Bunson asked

Gohan shrugged. "Not by much. And they weren't accepting admissions." _Actually my mom would rather die than let me go to school in the city where Vegeta lives. I might start training again. _"But...I am hoping to get accepted for a Capsule Corp internship this year at their Metro West headquarters."

Bunson immediately brightened "Hey, that's awesome! I'm an internship finalist too. This is perfect. I didn't think there was anyone else. If you're in the mix, I'm sure we have Orange Star's representatives locked. I was so worried I'd have to spend the whole semester stuck with _Videl_. That nasty spoiled princess..."

""I'm a nasty _what_?" Asked Videl.

Everybody, including Gohan jumped. He whipped around to find her standing right behind him. The fighter had one fist planted on her hip while she balanced an empty lunch tray in the other. Sharpner and Erasa flanked her to either side. Erasa winked at Gohan and gave a small wave.

Bunson turned flame red. "You're a...nasty...spoiled princess," he muttered.

Videl grinned widely and laughed. "See you at P.E. It's baseball today and this princess is picking teams with Sharpner." She walked away, Sharpner guffawing loudly as he followed.

"Aw guuuyys!" Erasa pouted, lingering. She turned to Gohan apologetically. "Sorry Gohan. She's just in a bad mood today. She's usually much nicer, I promise! Let's hang out later, kay?" She winked and dashed off.

Bunson groaned and banged his forehead on the table. One of his friends patted his back in sympathy. "Some people are just born with brains _and _brawn." He said with pity. "And money, and luck, and looks, and fame, and a mansion…"

Gohan cleared his throat. "I think he gets it."

"I think he's a dead man," said the other boy.

"C'mon," Bunson said, sitting up. "I'll show you where the locker rooms are."

* * *

"I can't believe they put P.E. after lunch this year," Videl said, stretching. She adjusted the brim of her baseball cap.

"It's awful" Erasa agreed. "It was way better last year when it was at the end of the day. I need time to fix my makeup!"

Videl smirked conspiratorially. "Like you ever break a sweat in P.E."

Erasa shrugged. She buffed her nails on her chest and held them out to examine. "I have no idea what you mean. I'm just a poor, weak creature of fashion."

"Hey," said Sharpner as Bunson and Gohan stepped out of the locker rooms. He nodded in the skinnier boys' direction. "Here comes the geek patrol."

Erasa slapped Sharpner playfully. "Oh stop it. I like him."

Sharpner ignored her. "YO NEW KID!" He shouted, "Brains! Do you know what Baseball is!?"

"Um," Gohan called back as he approached the field, "I guess? I mean I've never played, but I've read a couple books about it."

"Tch!" Sharpner dismissed. "Then I'm sure you'll be the next all star. You can have him, Videl. My team just filled up."

"Oh, no way, Sharpner. I already said I'd take Bunson."

"Come on!" Erasa begged. "Give him a break, I bet he could think of a bunch of great strategies since he's such a smarty."

Videl sighed. "Okay. Fine." She turned to Gohan as he and Bunson trotted up. "I'm putting you in right field Gohan, you know where that is?"

"On the right?" Gohan asked innocently.

Videl facepalmed. "Just get out there. Bunson-" She jerked a thumb at the dugout "- bench."

"Yes!" Bunson celebrated.

"Yeah, you owe me." Videl muttered. "Can't have two losers on the field at once." She looked over at Sharpner in apprehension. This game was going to be a slaughter.

"I can't believe we won!" Bunson shouted jubilantly as they walked off the field.

Sharpner glared at Bunson, "Can it already, dweeb. You spent the entire game in the dugout, so what are you celebrating?"

"I- " Bunson announced proudly, draping an arm over Gohan's shoulder, "am celebrating my man Gohan, who if you may remember tagged you out in the first inning, then scored the winning run of the game after _you_ walked him to first base."

Sharpner scowled.

"Aw, cuz," Erasa tittered. "Lighten up, Gohan did great! And he's never played sports before! What do you think, Videl?"

Videl had no idea what to think. She looked him over intently. Wiry frame, messy hair, goofy face. He talked and stuttered like an idiot. The kid made an eight-foot leap into the air and then blamed it on his _shoes. _It was hard to believe he aced the entrance exams, let alone won the game for her. And yet there was something about his eyes when he thought no one else was looking that gave her the worst case of deja vu_._

"He could be good." Videl grumbled, "He beat Sharpner."

"Hey!" Sharpner protested, looking betrayed.

Videl raised an eyebrow. "What? He did. He caught your home run, and it was your lame pitch that finally got my team on base."

Bunson smirked. "Well, don't celebrate now Videl. They're announcing the winners of the Capsule Cops internships tomorrow, and guess who's _also_ a finalist?"

Videl's head whipped to Gohan. "Really?"

"Yes?" Gohan held his hands up defensively.

"Competition making you nervous?" Bunson crowed.

Videl's heart thumped. "That internship spot is mine, Son." She warned, stepping towards him threateningly. "They only take two candidates per school, and I swear to you I am one of them."

Gohan took a step back at her intensity. "Woah...I didn't know. I applied right after I got my transfer approved. I didn't know anyone here yet." He raised his hands defensively.

Videl scowled. "Well you better hope you bump out Bunson and not me." She jabbed Gohan in the chest for emphasis. "I've worked too long, and too hard. You don't even _know_ what I've gone through -"

"Oh my _gosh!" _Erasa said loudly, throwing herself between Videl and Gohan. "Look at that! The locker rooms. Time to shower. Oh, yes, we girls have to look pretty!" She grabbed Videl by the arm and tugged on it insistently, "C'mon girlfriend, Lets go get cleaned up, kay?"

Videl let Erasa pull her into the girl's locker room, never breaking eye contact with Gohan until the door swung shut and blocked him from view. Erasa rounded on Videl.

"Okay, what was _that_!?" Erasa nearly shouted, throwing her arms up in exasperation. A bunch of their classmates turned to stare. Erasa flushed and tugged Videl further down the corridor and into a less crowded row of lockers.

"Seriously," Erasa hissed, "You are acting strange today. Don't think that Sharpner and I haven't noticed. You can't take your eyes off Gohan for five seconds. You spent the entire morning boring holes in the back of his head and then every chance you get to talk to him, you pick a fight. _What. Is. Up with you!?_"

Videl flinched under her friend's intensity. "I...I don't know," Videl admitted. "Something about him rubs me the wrong way. He's just…familiar and I can't figure out why." Videl moved closer to Erasa and lowered her voice. "Don't you think he kind of feels like…?"

Erasa looked at her friend in shock. "You're crazy. You know it's just you, me and Sharpner left."

"I know." Videl said, slumping against the lockers. The cold gray metal was soothing. "And that's why I can't let anyone beat me out for this internship. I need to get to Capsule Corp. I don't know how else to get the tools to research the you-know-what. I've been studying too hard for years to let someone swoop in and freeze me out. You know what's at stake."

Erasa shook her head sadly. "No. No I don't Videl. You're the only one who seems to think there is anything more to it. We've been fine for years. The doc takes care of us. It's sad what happened to the others, but that was years ago. We have medication to keep us stable. We are healthy."

"I don't buy it." Videl shook her head. "And I'm not going to see either you or Sharpner get sick, and be totally helpless again. In fact why even take medication? What if I could find a cure?"

"I don't think there is a cure, girlfriend." Erasa sighed. "I think we are lucky to have been born, defects and all."

Videl raised an eyebrow. "You ever tell any of your boyfriends about your _defects?"_

Erasa gasped and blushed. "Oh my gosh _no!_ Videl! You think I've gone that far with anyone?"

Videl smirked. "I think you want to show _Gohan_ your - "

Erasa squealed in embarrassment. "You're asking for it, monkey girl!" She made a grab at Videl's waist.

Videl laughed and danced out of the way. "Ha! Well that makes you a gorilla!"

* * *

Gohan hummed happily to himself as he packed up his books at his locker, ready to go home. He couldn't believe he'd managed to make so many friends on his first day. Sure things got a little dicey during gym, but overall he thought he did a pretty good job of pretending to be normal.

"Okay, Son Gohan!" he said to himself cheerfully, closing his locker door. "Good work! One day down, the rest of the school year -"

A sudden burst of killing intent cut across the hallway like a scythe. Gohan whipped around just in time to miss Sharpner as he slammed a hand on Gohan's locker.

"Nice reactions, brains." Sharpner said with a smirk. "With what you did on the baseball field today, I think you could have a lot of potential. You ever think about boxing?"

"No. Not really" Gohan answered flatly. He glanced at the new dent in his locker, then stared back at at Sharpener. He grit his teeth and buried his instincts. A trigger to his ki like that and Sharpner might have found himself dead.

The bigger teen surprised Gohan by leaning back and laughing. "Hahahahaha! I got you good. You should have seen your face! I was starting to wonder if you had any expressions other than 'dweeb' or 'moron'."

"Errrr…" Gohan cringed back. _Is he completely sane?_

"Aw see," Sharpner said. "There you are making that dumb face again. Don't be such a wimp."

_Am I being bullied? _Gohan wondered. After having been in life or death battles since the age of four with guys like Radditz, Nappa, Vegeta, Frieza, Cell...it was hard to put these things in perspective.

"Look," Sharpner said, sobering. "You may be book smart, but your socials skills are dumber than a peanut. I'll cut to the chase. Stay away from Erasa and Videl. Erasa is my cousin and Videl is _my _girl, so I'm warning you: back off."

Gohan could have laughed. _That's what this is about? He's jealous over Videl? _Gohan pictured the heiress, with her bad attitude and perpetual scowl. _If that's what he wants he can have her, no contest._

"I don't think you have to worry. Erasa's just a friend and Videl definitely hates me." Gohan said flippantly.

Sharpner growled and took a threatening step forward. "I don't think you're taking me seriously here."

_Uck. I don't have time for this. Better ham it up._ Gohan schooled his expression into some approximation of bullied terror and threw up his hands. "No way, nope. Definitely taking you seriously. You're the boss!"

Sharpner eyed him suspiciously. "Well I'm glad we're on the same page. They're both so far out of your league, you guys might as well be from different planets. Get it?"

_Better than you know, _Gohan thought with private amusement. Outwardly he nodded. "Got it, comprende, don't have to tell me twice. No intention here of stepping on anyone's game. We cool?"

Sharpner considered, then nodded back. He brushed past Gohan and walked halfway down the hall before turning back to get in one last word. "We're cool just as long as you don't forget, brains! I'm watching you. You wouldn't understand, but the three of us are like a unit. We're a whole different species from dweebs like you."

Gohan smiled. "Uh huh. Noted. See you tomorrow, Sharpner!" He waved cheerfully.

Sharpner just snorted and flipped his silky blonde hair over a shoulder.

Gohan blew out a heavy sigh. Different species, huh? _That's actually halfway true, big guy_.


End file.
